Exclusive: Celtics Star Forward Jaylen Brown Joins Toucher & Hardy

On Wednesday's edition of Toucher & Hardy, Celtics star forward and 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, joined the show. Brown discussed the importance of having downtime after a long playoff run, his thoughts on not making the Men's Olympic Team, and what current state of the organization.

Hardy: Is it good to have some time away from the game, so to speak?

Jaylen Brown: Absolutely not, I want to end every season the way we ended it last year. So no, no downtime. Let's just keep winning championships and figure out the rest.

Hardy: Well you get a chance to get back at it here very, very soon, which we're all happy to see.

Wallach: I mean, we can't not discuss this. You did not make the Olympic team. Your feelings on that now that you're a little removed from it?

Jaylen Brown: Feeling still the same. You know, I had a great summer. I'm still proud of the guys and what they accomplished. It was great. My stances hasn't changed much, but I think people may perceive it differently. If anything, I added more to my workouts and my work ethic, which is a good thing. You know, I think everything that doesn't go your way is fine. You know, it's political reasons, obviously, that were my beliefs. But you know, it is what it is. I'll address it when it comes up.

Wallach: Did you ever get an official explanation given to you?

Jaylen Brown: No. Still no.

Wallach: Grant Hill never called and said this is why?

Jaylen Brown: Absolutely not.

Hardy: But you haven't been afraid, but you've actually kind of leaned into being an agent for change and taking on some of these difficult issues, whether it's being the youngest representative for the players or any of these other causes that you believe in. Is this something else that you think maybe you could address in a more official manner going forward, saying like," Hey, let's all sit down and take a look at this and how these things are decided?"

Jaylen Brown: Yeah, for sure. I've sat in those meetings and and listen to conversations even with Adam (Silver) talking about corporate sponsors and how that stuff kind of goes. I get it. I understand from their perspective of what they were feeling. But at least, you know, publicly say that rather than what goes on. It's stuff like that amongst shoe companies, brands. It goes on in our youth as well at that level. You have kids trying to determine whether they're going to play in Nike, or Adidas, or Under Armor. It's super political, and they shouldn't even have to be thinking about that. It should only be focused on playing basketball. Anybody who thinks that politics and sports don't go hand in hand is being naive.

Wallach: So now we fast forward to this year in basketball, and from what I'm reading and seeing, this is not the first time you guys have all been together. You guys have been in the gym for, what, a week, two weeks?

Jaylen Brown: It's like a song that just keeps playing. We just got to just keep the flow going and keep the rhythm going. Our guys are back now, but the mentality, you can see it in everybody's eyes. We got some killers in that locker room and we got some great guys, so shout out to Brad Stevens. He's done a good job and Joe (Mazzulla) has done a good job. But we got some great guys. It's been an honor to share the locker room with some of these guys.

The defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics have made waves all offseason with GM Brad Stevens resigning just about the entire title winning team over the summer. Stevens struck again on Wednesday night with the signing of 25-year old Lonnie Walker IV. Walker is a 6'4 shooting guard who can play the 3 when asked, last season Walker averaged 9.7 points and shot 38% on three-pointers in 58 games for the Brooklyn Nets.

While some casual NBA fans will say, so what the NBA Champs added Lonnie Walker the roster was loaded already this isn't really a major move. I would agree with the sentiment but when you factor in just how much basketball this group has played over the last few seasons. Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown making deep playoff runs every year the deeper the bench the better for Boston's chances of repeating.

The Celtics were able to retain just about all of their players from last season but did lose Oshae Brissett and I believe Walker to be an upgrade over Brissett. Walker is a better shooter which we know Joe Mazzulla loves. His ability to spread the floor and be a consistent threat from outside is an upgrade over Brissett who was a .273 shooter from beyond the arc last season.

So while on the surface this is a very marginal move for the Celtics. Any move that bolsters the roster for a team looking to repeat as NBA champions is welcomed. The more rest they can give their stars throughout the season the more well rested they should be for another deep playoff run.

Listen to Joe Murray 7-11 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow on X @JoeyMurr and Instagram @ImJoeMurray to keep up with the show!